The Liège-based company Gaming1, already active in football and cycling, has just signed a 3-year partnership with the Phoenix Brussels Basketball club, which will become Circus Brussels Basketball as of next season.
The announcement was made yesterday at the annual press conference of Brussels Basketball, which was attended by almost 200 people: Circus, the flagship brand of Gaming1, the entertainment arm of the Ardent Group, will become the main sponsor of the Brussels basketball club as of next season.
Already active in cycling as sponsor of the Wanty-Gobert team, or in football via its partnership with Standard Liege and KAA Gent as of next season, Circus also wants to give basketball a new lease of life and offer the famous Brussels Phoenix a decisive pass.
With this new 3-year partnership, Circus hopes to breathe new life into the club, in particular thanks to the arrival of a new recruit: Kevin Tumba, the Belgian international pivot and sure value of our national team (Belgian Lions), is returning to Belgium.
After a disappointing 2020-2021 season and a complicated start to the 2021-2022 season, the club now called Circus Brussels Basketball hopes to rise from the ashes and achieve new goals. The Brussels-based club, which plays in the Dutch-Belgian first division (BNXT League), also hopes to shine in one of the European competitions in the coming years.
Emmanuel Mewissen, CEO of Ardent Group, commented on the new partnership:
"Our group has always been keen to contribute to the associative and sporting life of our country. In recent years, we have experienced rapid international growth, but our primary mission is still to maintain the local roots that are so important to the group. After Standard, KAA Gent and Wanty-Gobert, this partnership is a new opportunity to show our support for Belgian sports teams, to accompany them in new challenges and to allow them to grow. This is all the more important as for a discipline such as basketball, this kind of support is a real growth lever. We look forward to following the exploits of Circus Brussels Basket over the next 3 seasons."
André Dekandelaer, President of Circus Brussels Basketball, commented:
"The arrival of such an important sponsor allows us to set more ambitious sporting objectives, materialised by the arrival of confirmed players both on a national and international level. At the same time, a new development strategy for the training and support of young people can be put in place. On behalf of the entire basketball community in our region, I would like to thank Circus and Mr. Mewissen for their trust in us."